Miao Siwang was already in his forties, dark-skinned and robust. Pointing at Ma Cuilan, he said, "Girl, donât falsely accuse people. Although I, Old Si, have lost my wife, my son has married, and I never thought about remarrying or harassing you."
After hearing what the villagers said about Ma Cuilan, Miao Siwang was infuriated and felt utterly humiliated by this unexpected calamity.
Ma Cuilan quickly cried out, "Cuilan didnât say it was Uncle Miao Si." After saying this, she glanced at Miao Liushun and shuddered with fear.
Seeing her reaction, the villagers understood everything clearly.
Moreover, Miao Liushun, in his thirties, was also fit and strong, and having lost his wife, was both capable and inclined, so it wasnât unusual for him to approach Ma Cuilan.
Plenty of women among the displaced pointed at Miao Liushun and cursed, "Miao Liushun, you dog, canât live without a woman, coveting young girls at your age, have you no shame?"
"Your wife only recently died, planning to remarry even before the mourning period is over, arenât you afraid your wife will haunt you at night?"
"Seems honest on the outside but full of crooked thoughts inside."
Miao Liushun was so cursed that he couldnât even retort, only able to look at Village Chief Miao for help, "Uncle..."
Village Chief Miao to those scolding women, "Ladies, stop cursing for a moment, letâs listen to what Liushun has to say. If he truly has done something wicked, we in Miao Family Gully wonât let him off lightly."
If Ma Cuilan had indeed wronged him, then she should prepare herself to be banished.
These troubled times, a single woman, once kicked out of the disaster relief group, would be harmed by villains in no half a day.
Hearing Village Chief Miaoâs words, considering his usual fairness, the women ceased their scolding.
Village Chief Miao glared fiercely at Miao Liushun, "Speak up, what exactly happened? Do not hide anything, tell everything. If you dare hide a single word, Iâll have you thrown out of the Miao Family Gullyâs evacuation group."
Miao Liushun, scared, quickly nodded and said, "I didnât do much, just saw her struggling alone on the road and gave her some food... She said I was a good person, told me she had thought it over these past days, couldnât be without support, wanted to be with me... I, in excitement, just hugged her once, but she suddenly changed her mind and struggled away."
His words were intermittent but the villagers understood. Everyone was stunned, this was so different from what Ma Cuilan said.
Ma Cuilan, hearing Miao Liushunâs words, looked at him, her face full of sadness and despair, "Uncle Miao Liu, one mustnât be so cruel. By twisting the facts like this, are you trying to drive me to death?"
After saying this, she suddenly picked up a rock from the ground and smashed it hard against her own head.
With a bang, her head cracked open, blood flowing profusely.
Everyone was shocked, several women rushed forward, covering the wound on her forehead to stop the bleeding.
Third Grandma, in panic, wanted to go help but was held back by Third Grandpa.
Third Grandpa shook his head at her, whispering, "Donât go, wait and see."
Third Grandpa had never wanted to adopt Ma Cuilan, now with conflicting statements, he was even less likely to help her... Along the way, had they not witnessed enough vile and foul deeds? How many seemingly harmless people turned out to be beasts, he couldnât now easily trust a stranger.
Third Grandma knew Third Grandpas worries, also felt there was something suspicious, yet she couldnât bear to see Ma Cuilan, a girl, so helpless. Every time she saw Ma Cuilan, she thought of her own daughter Fuyan, fearing that Fuyanâs family might face troubles with no one to help.
After some bustling about, the women managed to stop the bleeding in Ma Cuilanâs wound and bandaged it properly.
Village Chief Miao didnât expect Ma Cuilan to be so ruthless, to throw a stone at her own head without saying much. Such a girl... too terrifying.
He looked towards Village Chief Ren and Scholar Zhong and asked, "Now each person tells a different story, and Liu Shun is my nephew, I canât handle this. You two take care of it, however you deal with it, we at Miao Family Gully have no objections."
Village Chief Ren looked at Ma Cuilan and pointed to her left cheek asking, "Whatâs this slap mark about? Miao Liushun, did you hit her?"
Miao Liushun quickly waved his hands: "No no, why would I hit her?" Itâs hard enough to find a girl willing to be with a widower who lost his wife, let alone to mistreat her.
But his words, the refugees now hardly believe.
Village Chief Ren then asked Ma Cuilan, "Girl, was it Miao Liushun who hit you?"
Ma Cuilan seemed very afraid of Miao Liushun, stealing a glance at him, tremblingly shook her head, then hurriedly nodded: "Yes, it was him who hit me." She appeared fearful of Miao Liushun, daring not to speak, yet wanting to seek justice for herself, finally admitting it.
Village Chief Ren stared deeply at Ma Cuilan and asked the scholar standing next to him, "Scholar, what do you think we should do about this?"
Scholar Zhong, in his fifties, back in his hometown, was someone who only buried himself in books, oblivious to worldly affairs and knew nothing about mundane matters. After fleeing the famine, despite adapting somewhat for survival, he was still somewhat of a bungler and meddler.
Hearing Village Chief Renâs question, he indignantly said, "Miao Liushun lacks personal virtues; naturally, he should be driven away. We canât let him continue with us in this escape from famine!"
Village Chief Ren said, "But everything must be based on evidence. Miao Liushun claims that he did not coerce Ma Cuilan, it was Ma Cuilan who showed interest in him first. Meanwhile, Ma Cuilan claims that it was Miao Liushun who forcibly mistreated her and even slapped her. Both are telling their own stories, none have evidence, itâs hard to convict either."
Village Chief Ren paused for a while, then added, "If this was brought to the government office, it would still be unclear."
Scholar Zhong, who had spent his whole life studying and aspired to enter the government service, felt some sense in Village Chief Renâs words.
Seeing Scholar Zhong persuaded, Village Chief Ren quickly added, "With no evidence and in the difficulty of conviction, and considering we are fleeing famine now, we must prioritize our journey, we canât afford too much delay over this. How about we give Miao Liushun twenty lashes, then find a family to adopt Ma Cuilan, and let this matter rest."
The refugees, upon hearing this, thought it was a solution that kills two birds with one stone.
Miao Liushun felt utterly wronged and wanted to protest, but was glared at by Village Chief Miao, afraid to speak up again.
Village Chief Miao wanted to teach Miao Liushun a lesson, to prevent this fool from pouncing upon any girl showing interest in him, otherwise, more trouble would arise in the future.
Scholar Zhong nodded in agreement, "Thatâs a good idea, but which family should adopt this child?"
Village Chief Ren, a shrewd man, looked towards Third Grandma, Third Grandpa immediately refused, "We are old and also fleeing famine with the village, depending on our relatives and nephews for support, we canât afford to add more burden."
Ma Cuilan is not simple, whichever family adopts her, that family would be unfortunate.
Village Chief Ren was quite distressed, glanced at Ma Cuilan then looked towards Scholar Zhong.
Ma Cuilan, cleverly understanding Village Chief Renâs intention, turned and knelt in front of Scholar Zhong, crying and kowtowing, "Scholar, I beg you to take me in. Cuilan can survive on grass roots, can work hard, and wonât cause trouble for your family."
Her initial targets were not Third Grandmaâs Family, but the families of Village Chief Ren and Scholar Zhong. However, Village Chief Ren being shrewd, would certainly not adopt her, leaving only Scholar Zhong.
Scholar Zhong, being naive and easily persuaded, with the status of scholar, his family relatively wealthy which allowed him to study for decades, was the best choice for an adopting family.
As long as Scholar Zhong adopts her, she would then be a girl from a scholarâs family. Once resettled, she could use this identity to find a good family to marry into.